With a rapidly emerging, vast middle class that is hungry for prestigious and fashionable products, China has already caught up with the United States in terms of Apple's shipment volumes, and promises to exceed American demand as it continues to grow.
Apple, unlike Microsoft, Google and most other western tech companies, has uniquely figured out how to create and maintain a strong demand for its products in China, in large part because Apple's design appeal and branding are harder to duplicate than the basic functionality of Microsoft's Office or Google's web services, which have already been replicated by Chinese firms.
Despite lots of focus on Xiaomi, Apple is selling increasing numbers of iPhones in China. Conversely, Microsoft and Google are finding it difficult to do any business inside the country, an their potential opportunities are rapidly being crowded out. In Google's case, it's losing in China largely because of Android's openness, rather than being assisted by its broad adoption as planned.
Source:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/01/27/apple-incs-once-slower-q2-now-getting-a-boost-from-chinas-lunar-new-year-holiday
